This film about the life and death of the universe has been 30 years in the making — and it’s finally coming out this fall

It’s actually happening. Terrence Malick‘s
fabled Voyage of
Time will arrive in theaters on October 7,
2016. At least, one version of it will. Even by Malick’s
standards — a filmmaker known for his secrecy and slow-burn
filmmaking process (until his recent unexpected burst of
productivity, at least) — the Ennio
Morricone-scored documentary Voyage of
Time is one of his longest-gestating films.

It’s also probably one of his most ambitious; a far-reaching
exploration of time, space and life itself…you know, the simple
stuff. Here’s the official description.

VOYAGE OF TIME is a celebration of the universe, displaying
the whole of time, from its start to its final collapse. This
film examines all that occurred to prepare the world that stands
before us now: science and spirit, birth and death, the grand
cosmos and the minute life systems of our planet.

Though Malick has been mulling the project for over 30 years, he officially
started work on it in 2008. Announced as an IMAX
documentary spawned from footage from The Tree of
Life, the documentary would reportedly cover the
“birth and death of the universe”, exploring the history of life
and the mysteries of the cosmos. In the time since, updates came
intermittently throughout the years as Malick toiled away on the
ambitious project and churned out an unusual three full features
in the process (To The Wonder, Knight of Cups,
Weightless). There was talk of a 2014 release that never
happened. Then there was talk of a 2016 release.

At long last, there was some real forward motion early last year
when we learned that Malick would release two versions
of the film — a 40-minute IMAX cut narrated by producer
Brad Pitt, and a 35mm feature-length version
narrated by Cate Blanchett — with IMAX and Broad
Green Pictures stepping in to complete the financing and secure
distribution rights. Broad Green received first North
American distribution rights after an exclusive IMAX release

Now, it’s really happening. Thanks to a detail buried deep in an
IMAX press release (via One Big Soul, ht The Film Stage), we now know
that Malick’s IMAX cut will debut in theaters this October,
though there is no word yet on when the feature length version
will arrive. For now, let’s count our blessings. This bizarre,
incredibly ambitious attempt to encompass
well, everything, is actually arriving in theaters,
and for once, the release date is sooner than later.